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James Deaville, Professor of Music, Carleton University

It’s a Wonderful Life: A Christmas classic that reflects bigoted ideas about ‘proper’ music in the 1940s

Frank Capra George Bailey American Film Institute Jimmy Stewart America Wikimedia Commons
The most memorable musical moments in the film are not by film composer Dimitri Tomkin. (Wikimedia)

Hailed by many critics and movie lovers as a “timeless classic” — and ranking first on the American Film Institute’s list of the 100 most inspiring films of all time — It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) has found a secure place in the hearts of audiences.

Film poster with illustration of man in a suit lifting a woman in a dress in the air.
1946 poster for ‘It’s a Wonderful Life.’ (Wikimedia Commons)
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